Justin Fields is being the subject of multiple trade rumors as his future with the Chicago Bears looks up in the air. The quarterback unfollowed the team on Instagram, which was taken by many as a sign that he may not stay in the Windy City.
However, Fields explained his social media move has nothing to do with a possibility of leaving Chicago. In an appearance on The 33rd Team podcast with the St. Brown brothers, the 24-year-old said he just wanted to get everything football-related off his timeline during the offseason.
“I still mess with the Bears… I unfollowed them and the NFL. I’m just not trying to have football on my timeline… Just cause you don’t follow a girl on IG doesn’t mean you don’t mess with her!,” Fields said, as quoted by ClutchPoints.
Fields entering contract year while Bears hold high draft pick
Fields is entering the fourth year of his rookie contract, with an estimated $22 million fifth-year option that can be exercised or declined before May 2.
Selected with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, Fields has already spent three seasons with the Bears. While his arrival created a lot of excitement at the beginning, he couldn’t live up to the expectations yet.
Everyone knew Fields had a challenging task in turning the Bears around, which is why no one blamed him for the team’s struggles at first. In his rookie season, Fields completed 58.9% of his passes for 1,870 yards, 7 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 10 starts. With five more starts in 2022, the Kennesaw native improved to 60.4% completed passes for 2242 yards, 17 TDs and 11 INTs.
He slightly improved those numbers last year, with a 61.4 completion rate for 2562 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions; but the Bears still went 5-8 with Fields under center. Overall, his record as starter is 10-28.
With the Bears holding the first pick of the upcoming 2024 draft, whether Fields will remain as their starting quarterback moving forward remains to be seen. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been mentioned as a possible destination in the event Chicago wants to find him a new landing spot, but we may have to wait until April to see what direction the Bears decide to take.
